Parties welcome Himachal poll schedule; BJP hope to retain power

Ruling BJP and the Congress on Friday welcomed the announcement of the schedule for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, with both parties claiming to come to power in the state.

The ruling BJP is banking on achievements of its Union and state governments while the Opposition Congress is promising to restore the old pension scheme for employees apart from providing five lakh jobs.

The elections will be held on November 12 and the counting will take place on December 8.

The BJP and the Congress have given alternate governments in the hill state for over three decades. However, the BJP is hoping to buck the trend this time.

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur welcomed the poll schedule and claimed that there is no scope of the Congress coming to power. The Congress has no future in Himachal Pradesh and it is not in a position to come to power at the Centre, he said.

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Thakur said the BJP will contest the elections with its full strength. He said the state got several projects worth over Rs 10,000 crore in the past five years with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blessings.

Be it the AIIMS, Bilaspur, Atal Tunnel in Rohtang, Bulk Drug Park, Medical Device Park, special status or providing momentum to four-lane works, all these could only be possible with Modi's blessings, he added.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Alka Lamba said her party is fully ready for the polls.

In a video statement, Lamba said the announcement of poll dates put an end to the "misuse of government machinery" by the double-engine government of the ruling party.

All-India Congress Committee general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had on Friday launched the Congress campaign by addressing a rally in Solan and said the party will put up a united face.

People want change and they will vote for the Congress, she added.

A direct contest between the BJP and the Congress is likely in the state, where the Aam Aadmi Party will also be trying its luck.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past a few months held a series of rallies in parts of the state. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to release the BJP's election theme song during his visit to Himachal Pradesh on Saturday.

In the 68-member Assembly, the BJP currently has 43 members followed by 22 of the Congress. There are two Independents and one CPM MLA in the Assembly.

Jai Ram Thakur is the BJP’s chief ministerial face for the polls while the Congress will go without a CM face.